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Zim govt introduces controversial new
Bill

Mail and Guardian

Chris Chinaka | Harare, Zimbabwe

23
August 2007 04:20

President Robert Mugabe's government
introduced a Bill to Parliament on Thursday that would give Zimbabweans
majority ownership of foreign companies, a move which critics say will
deepen an economic crisis.

If passed, it would give the
government sweeping powers over how foreign companies, including mines,
operate in Zimbabwe.

Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister
Paul Mangwana told the assembly the Bill would create an environment that
would increase the "participation of indigenous people in
Zimbabwe".

The Bill was passed to a parliamentary legal
committee shortly after it was introduced. Mugabe is likely to push it
through because his ruling Zanu-PF party dominates Parliament, analysts
say.

Mugabe, accused of widespread human rights abuses and
destroying Zimbabwe's economy, has been tightening his control of the
country as discontent grows with chronic food, fuel and foreign currency
shortages, critics say.

'It is all going to get
worse' Meanwhile, Zimbabweans shrugged off their country's latest
world-record breaking inflation data on Thursday as irrelevant to a misery
that could only get worse.

After a long delay, the
government released official figures on Wednesday showing July inflation at
7 634,8%.

Despite its staggering scale, many people said it
underestimated the true situation and paled into insignificance alongside
chronic food, fuel and foreign currency shortages.

The
data was published after the government imposed a price freeze, which
backfired and left store shelves empty.

"These inflation
statistics are meaningless ... it is the height of dishonesty for them to
release inflation figures only after enforcing price reductions," said
Patrick Moyo, a student at a Harare college.

"What is clear,
however, is it is all going to get worse."

Complaining is
risky under President Robert Mugabe's crackdown on dissent. The only option
for those who have had enough is to leave for neighbouring
countries.

The journey can require crossing
crocodile-infested rivers and there is no guarantee of a job or home at the
end of it. But more and more people leave every day. -- Reuters

More misery for Zimbabweans as inflation gallops

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabweans
shrugged off their country's latest world-record breaking inflation data on
Thursday as irrelevant to a misery that could only get worse.

After a
long delay, the government released official figures on Wednesday showing
July inflation at 7,634.8 percent.

Despite its staggering scale, many
people said it underestimated the true situation and paled into
insignificance alongside chronic food, fuel and foreign currency
shortages.

The data was published after the government imposed a price
freeze which backfired and left store shelves empty.

"These inflation
statistics are meaningless ... it is the height of dishonesty for them to
release inflation figures only after enforcing price reductions," said
Patrick Moyo, a student at a Harare college.

"What is clear, however, is
it is all going to get worse."

Complaining is risky under President
Robert Mugabe's crackdown on dissent. The only option for those who have had
enough is to leave for neighbouring countries.

The journey can
require crossing crocodile infested rivers and there is no guarantee of a
job or home at the end of it. But more and more people leave every
day.

PRICE WAR

Critics accuse Mugabe -- in power since
independence from Britain in 1980 -- of ruining what was one of Africa's
most promising economies through controversial policies such as the seizure
of white-owned farms to resettle blacks.

His government in turn
charges Western countries with a plot to oust the veteran leader. At the end
of June, it rolled back prices of basic goods and services to June 18
levels, accusing businesses of hiking prices as part of such a
plot.

This made the July inflation figure not much higher than the
official figure for June of 7,251.1, whereas that was a big leap from 4,530
in May.

The freeze sparked frenzied buying. Maize meal, sugar, flour and
cooking oil, once stapled foods, have become a luxury.

Zimbabweans
hoped for a little relief on Wednesday when the government announced price
increases for some goods, including food products, beverages and farming
inputs.

But on Thursday, shops remained empty as tempers flared in long
lines outside. "Nothing has changed, we still have to wait for hours for
deliveries," said Tendai Jemwa, after waiting for sugar for two
hours.

Although the government says the inflation figure is correct, many
analysts and critics say it is likely much higher. The International
Monetary Fund said last month it may reach 100,000 by year-end.

That
may rattle Zimbabweans. But their president, a former African liberation
hero, remains defiant after 27 years in power.

Analysts say Mugabe may
loosen price controls as he struggles against inflation and growing
discontent.

"It is clear this is just one more failed government policy
and I see gradual relaxation as government finds itself with more and more
egg on their faces," said Anthony Hawkins, a lecturer of business studies at
the University of Zimbabwe.

"That will then lift the lid on
underlying inflationary pressures," he added.

Mbeki defends his stance on Zimbabwe

The
South African president, Thabo Mbeki, chided critics of his handling of the
political upheaval in Zimbabwe today, saying his efforts to mediate between
the government and opposition were "on track" and would deliver a resolution
to the crisis.A meeting of Mr Mbeki's cabinet rejected reports in the South
African press that the talks were failing after Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF
failed to turn up for the first round and the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change said there was no progress at subsequent
negotiations.

The cabinet said in a statement that Mr Mbeki had
reported to a summit of regional leaders that he was confident of brokering
a deal."Contrary to misleading and sensationalist media reports, the report
indicated that the facilitated talks between the government of Zimbabwe and
the opposition were on track and was confident these talks will deliver an
agreement that will lay the foundation for free and fair elections in
Zimbabwe," the statement said.

The cabinet also denied that Mr Mbeki
blamed Britain for Zimbabwe's economic woes. According to a document
circulating among diplomats ahead the summit that purported to be a draft of
Mr Mbeki's position at the meeting, and which was reported on in the
Guardian, the South African leader joined Mr Mugabe in accusing the UK of
leading a campaign of western sanctions to bring Zimbabwe's economy to its
knees.

Mr Mbeki's office says it knows nothing about the document.
"Government once again categorically rejects the allegation that President
Mbeki had blamed the British government for the problems in Zimbabwe. This
is simply not true," the statement said.

The South African government
has previously sided with Mr Mugabe when he blamed Zimbabwe's economic woes
on western sanctions, although the measures taken by Europe and the US are
limited to travel bans on senior ruling party officials and other steps that
have no economic repercussions.

A regional summit in March effectively
accepted Mr Mugabe's view and called for "the lifting of all forms of
sanctions against Zimbabwe".

At the end of their summit last week, the
region's leaders said that Zimbabwe's crisis was "exaggerated", but new
economic indicators suggest otherwise. Official inflation rose to 7,634% in
July, the highest in the world. Consumer groups say that real inflation is
probably twice that or even higher.

The state Central Statistical
Office said that a government order to shops to cut prices by at least half
in late June brought month-on-month inflation down from 86% in June to 31%
in July. But it also left most supermarket shelves bare and most of basics,
such as cooking oil, sugar and tea, are now generally available on the black
market at several times the official price.

Earlier this week the
government bowed to reality and permitted shop owners and producers to raise
the price of some basic goods by 20%, but retailers say they do not believe
it will do much to ease the crisis.

South Africa confident of free and fair Zimbabwe polls

CAPE TOWN (AFP) - The South African government
expressed confidence Thursday in free and fair elections in neighbouring
Zimbabwe even as the ruling party and opposition there remained at
loggerheads.

The South African cabinet accepted a report by President
Thabo Mbeki that his attempts to broker a stalemate between Zimbabwe's
ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were
"on track".

"The report ... was confident these talks will deliver an
agreement that will lay the foundation for free and fair elections in
Zimbabwe," government spokesman Themba Maseko told journalists after a
fortnightly cabinet meeting.

Southern African leaders failed last
week to heed calls for strong action against the embattled Zimbabwean
government, saying at the conclusion of a two-day summit in Lusaka, Zambia,
the country's problems were "exaggerated".

Zimbabwe is in the throes of
an economic crisis with inflation past the 7,000 percent mark, four in five
people jobless and 80 percent of the population living below the poverty
threshold.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who got a rousing welcome
to the summit, told Zambia's state ZNBC television that sanctions were to
blame for his country's economic woes, adding things were getting
better.

"It is going well, relatively," he said.

On the sidelines
of the summit, Mugabe's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told journalists
no political reforms were necessary in his country, while the MDC Wednesday
denounced a two-month voter registration programme as a sham to boost
Mugabe's chances of victory in elections set down for March.

Maseko said
Thursday that despite their public sparring, the Zimbabwean government and
opposition remained committed to talks the SADC mandated Mbeki to
facilitate.

"The president (Mbeki) did indicate that he informed the SADC
heads of state that both parties were united in the resolve that the talks
will proceed.

"Yes there will be hiccups as the talks unfold, but the
overall assessment ... was that the talks were indeed progressing and that
an agreement or a settlement will be reached soon to make sure that there
will be free and fair elections in Zimbabwe," said Maseko.

"The
president in his capacity as the facilitator of the talks is confident that
in fact progress is being made on a number of fundamental issues."

Maseko
rejected media reports that SADC heads of state were divided on how to deal
with the Zimbabwean issue, and said there had been no discussion on delaying
elections.

Zimbabwe: Untreated sewage makes its way into drinking
water

HARARE, 23 August 2007 (IRIN) - The dumping of untreated sewage
into Lake Chivero, the main water supply dam of the Zimbabwean capital,
Harare, has finally caught up with authorities, and the city has seen an
upsurge in cases of diarrhoea and dysentery.

According to Prosper
Chonzi, Harare's City Health Director, unreliable water supplies and sewer
blockages have led to a surge in diarrhoea cases. The official daily
newspaper, The Herald, quoted him as saying that Harare's 60 clinics were
now attending to more than 900 cases of diarrhoea every day.

Many more
are being treated at private health institutions. Chonzi told IRIN his
department had ordered all clinics to treat cases of diarrhoea free of
charge to encourage people to seek treatment, which would prevent infection
from spreading.

Most of Zimbabwe's public infrastructure is in a
state of disrepair. The country is saddled with crippling foreign exchange
shortages and the world's highest inflation rate. The official inflation
rate has been pegged at around 3,700 percent, but in recent confidential
correspondence with bank chief executives, seen by IRIN, Reserve Bank
Governor Gideon Gono said inflation had shot up beyond the 7,000 percent
mark in June.

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) took over the
provision of water and sewerage services two years ago from the efficient,
elected Harare Municipality, but it has failed to raise money to repair the
city's sewerage treatment plant, resulting in untreated human waste being
diverted into Lake Chivero, the city's main source of water.

ZINWA
has maintained that it does not have the foreign exchange to import spare
parts to refurbish the outdated water treatment works, and residents have
had to contend with water cuts, at times lasting for more than six
months.

A dire shortage of fuel and poor funding has also made ZINWA
unable to attend to burst sewer pipes, resulting in effluent flowing into
the streets of many Harare townships.

The hardest hit have been areas
like Mabvuku and Tafara, where there has been no potable water for more than
six months. Several people in Mabvuku died of cholera earlier this year
after residents had gone without clean water for months, forcing them to
resort to shallow unprotected wells.

Government response

The
minister of water resources, Munacho Mutezo, whose ministry oversees ZINWA,
told IRIN in a statement that the government had recently made available
Zim$100 billion (about US$400,000 at the parallel market exchange rate) for
the refurbishment of water and sewage treatment plants.

"My ministry
would like to assure residents that ZINWA is doing everything within its
reach, with limited resources at its disposal, to ensure normal service," he
said in the statement. Mutezo said normal supplies of water would resume
"soon".

The ongoing power cuts made it difficult for ZINWA to provide
water, because the 20-hour outages meant they could not pump water to
residential homes, Mutezo said.

Precious Shumba, spokesman for the
Combined Harare Residents Association, called on the government-appointed
city leadership, and the ministries of health, water resources and local
government to move quickly to avert what he described as an "unmitigated
health disaster".

"There are biting water shortages, caused partly by a
porous water reticulation system that has all but totally collapsed. In
every suburb that we have visited in the high-density areas over the last
two weeks, sewage was flowing in the streets, creating fertile environments
for the spreading of waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea,
dysentery, which have begun to affect many residents," Shumba
said.

Burst sewer pipes

IRIN visited the high-density suburbs of
Mbare, Dzivarasekwa and Budiriro in Harare, and saw the sewage flowing in
the streets. Susan Tarwisa, a vegetable vendor in Glen View, told IRIN it
was not surprising that many residents were complaining of stomach
ailments.

"Very few people can afford medical treatment, and the few who
can afford to visit hospitals cannot afford or find the medical drugs. There
are many people who are suffering in their homes," she said.

"People
are drinking unsafe water from shallow boreholes. They don't have enough
water to wash vegetables or plates which they use, creating a breeding
ground for waterborne diseases."

Johnny Rodrigues, chairperson of the
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, an environmental activist group, told IRIN
that the implications of discharging raw effluent into the capital's main
water source were beginning to be felt.

"For a long time we have warned
that diverting raw sewage and industrial effluent would have the effect of
causing an outbreak of waterborne diseases," he said. "The lake into which
the effluent flows is where residents catch fish for resale in urban Harare,
and this creates another front ... [for diseases to] spread, especially
since the fish are sold in open, unhygienic conditions."

Harare's
water woes are partly caused by power cuts, but its long-suffering residents
will perhaps take some solace from reports that normal power supplies are to
resume in early 2008.

The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, the
state power utility, has received a US$40 million loan from its Namibian
counterpart, NamPower, to refurbish the Hwange Thermal Power Station in
Matabeleland North Province, which will generate an extra 330MW of
electricity, 150MW of which will go to Namibia for five years in exchange
for the loan.

Bulawayo

In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, the
municipality has decommissioned four of its five supply dams and instituted
water rationing so strict that it has left people without the precious
commodity for weeks at a time. Residents told IRIN that they feared
outbreaks of cholera and diarrhoea caused by falling hygienic
standards.

"People are going for several days without bathing, and the
little water that they get is being stored for drinking and cleaning
utensils," said Mlamuli Tshuma. "Residents who are lucky to have boreholes
are making brisk business by selling water to desperate families."

In
June, more than 20 people died of diarrhoea in the gold mining town of
Kadoma, 138km south of Harare, in Mashonaland West Province. The town had no
tap water for weeks because the water treatment plant had broken down and
there was no money to repair
it.

dd/jk/he

[END]

This article does not necessarily
reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.

Dzivarasekwa Residents Up In Arms against ZINWA

Precious ShumbaCombined
Harare Residents Association22 August 2007

RESIDENTS in Ward 45,
Dzivarasekwa this morning (22 Aug. 07) converged at Dzivarasekwa district
office and demanded that the local district office urgently attend to the
crisis of burst sewers that has gone unattended for nearly two
weeks.

Dzivarasekwa and Tynwald have had perennial problems of burst
sewers for ages and request for assistance from the district office have
fallen on deaf ears. The crowd of about 70 residents which was led by the
CHRA local leadership of Ward 45 made several resolutions. After meeting the
officers in charge at the district office residents resolved the
following;

If the sewerage bursts which have been left unattended to for
weeks are not solved the residents will throw the sewer at the district
office. They argued that most of the people working at the district office
did not live with sewage burst and hence could not sympathise with the
residents. They would want to throw the sewage at the district office as a
sign of discontent and also to make them appreciate the gravity of the
matter.

Residents are also keen on petitioning the Minister of Water
Resources and Infrastructural Development on the state of waste management
and in particular the sewage crisis that has hit the area. The letter will
be carbon copied to ZINWA and the City of Harare.

They will mobilise
residents from other areas so they can make a combined action at the Town
House and ZINWA offices within 14 days.

The Combined Harare Residents'
Association (CHRA) has been running capacity building programs to assist
residents to make local based actions to solve local actions. The popular
action witnessed today was part of the ongoing exercise by CHRA to
decentralise the planning and implementation of programs at community level.
Since ZINWA took over the administration of Sewer and Water services there
has been a phenomenal decline in the management of sewer and water
services.

Several areas have gone without water while burst sewers have
become the order of the day. The worst affected areas include
Mabvuku-Tafara, Budiriro, Dzivarasekwa, Glen Norah, Glen View and
Hatcliffe.

Resident's have had to close and abandon use of their toilets
since they have been blocked for ages. This situation has created a new wave
of disease outbreaks with Cholera and Diarhorrea topping the list. The
Association has continued with its effort to lobby for the reversal of the
decisions by Cabinet to let ZINWA run sewer and water services. CHRA also
runs awareness campaigns on how to combat the spread o Cholera and
Diarhorrea. The Association will continue to advocate for effective,
accountable and transparent municipal services.

No Improvement in Supplies After Government Increases Prices

SW
Radio Africa (London)

23 August 2007Posted to the web 23 August
2007

Tererai Karimakwenda

Shelves are still empty in
Zimbabwe's shops, despite the fact that government has increased the price
of some basic commodities. Workers continue to struggle to get transport in
the morning and after work, and long queues can still be seen when shops get
a delivery. It has also been reported that some government officials are
benefiting from the shortages of meat by raiding the Cold Storage Commission
and selling the meat at inflated prices on the black market. New records
released by the Central Statistical Office Wednesday put Zimbabwe's
inflation at 7,634.8 percent in July. Economic experts say it is actually
beyond 14,000 percent, the highest in the world.

Journalist Caiphas
Chimhete reported that on Wednesday government published a new pricing
structure, increasing the price of some basic commodities. He said scarce
items such as sugar, chicken, soap, car tyres and floor polish were among
the items on the list. Blankets and farming inputs like seeds and fertiliser
were also included. Although they have reviewed prices upwards, the
authorities have not admitted that the price control exercise introduced
back in March was a disaster. They continue to enforce price controls that
are causing the very shortages that have gripped the
country.

Chimhete said butchers have not started providing enough
meat for everyone after government made a u-turn weeks ago and allowed some
private abattoirs to operate. Meat has become a luxury for most Zimbabweans.
The Harare based reporter revealed that people who are finding meat on the
black market claim that it is actually top officials from the Cold Storage
Commission who are selling it. According to Chimhete, the meat is available
at two to three times the government stipulated price. And it is top
officials who are making the money.

In other economic news, the
Deputy Minister of Industry and International Trade Phineas Chihota, has
said government will charge higher excise duty on imported goods that are
also available locally. The Deputy Minister said this in the House of
Assembly Wednesday in response to a question from Timothy Mubhawu, the MDC
MP for Tafara/Mabvuku. Mubhawu had asked the Deputy Minister to clarify two
contradicting Statutory Instruments issued by the ministry, one banning the
importation of basic commodities and another that rescinded the
ban.

Arrested Americans Deported Without Access to Lawyers

SW Radio
Africa (London)

23 August 2007Posted to the web 23 August
2007

Violet Gonda

Two US filmmakers, arrested on Wednesday
morning with the Girl Child Network director Betty Makoni, were deported on
Thursday without having any legal recourse. They had been summoned the day
before to report to the police which led to their subsequent
arrest.

Their lawyer Dzimbabwe Chimbwa said it is still not clear why
they were arrested but the Americans had been filming a documentary on
Makoni's Girl Child Network. This is an organization that works with orphans
and abused children in Zimbabwe.

Makoni was released the same day
at around 9pm but the two Americans remained in detention overnight. Chimbwa
said he was denied access to them at all times. He said it was only after
Makoni advised him that the police had searched her house and taken their
travel documents that they suspected the authorities were intending to
deport the foreigners.

The lawyer said: "Our enquiries at South African
Airways confirmed that the police had been there to try and get them onto a
plane which was leaving today at 1pm. We managed to urgently file an
application before the High Court to stop the deportations and we got that
order at 1 o'clock but unfortunately it is exactly at that time the South
African Airways, which the two were supposed to be on, was
leaving."

A frustrated Chimbwa said the bottom-line is that his clients
were forcibly removed from the country without having any access to their
lawyers and without being afforded their right to be heard. The police
charged them under the notorious Access to information and Protection of
Privacy Act, on allegations of practicing journalism without
accreditation.

Betty Makoni told the lawyer that they were subjected to
long hours of interrogation, which included threats and attempts to force
them to sign confessions that they had committed an offence. "And she did
confirm that after a night in detention the clients were looking very weary
and emotionally disturbed," the lawyer said.

The police confiscated
all the equipment and documents the filmmakers had in their possession when
they were arrested. Chimbwa said the police also harassed him. He said: "I
was threatened by the police officer who was manning the reception at CID
Law and Order and he accosted me outside of CID to ensure that I couldn't
continue."

Thousands of former
farm workers remain destitute

zimbabwejournalists.com

23rd Aug 2007 18:43 GMT

By Trust Matsilele

OVER 500
thousand Zimbabweans illegally evicted from commercial farms, which the
Robert Mugabe government seized over the past few years, are still in dire
need of shelter, food, citizenship and dignity as they remain staying in
rural squatter camps.

An independent leading researcher, whose identity
has been protected for fear of retribution from the Zimbabwe government,
confirmed thousands were still living in poverty with the nothing being done
to help them out of their quandary.

The researcher, who is with the
Forced Migration studies at the Witswaterand University, said over thirty
thousand children of school going age still have no access to any
educational facilities posing serious dangers for the country in the
future.

He said it would take a long time to address such problems that
were created by the Zimbabwe government since it began its land grab
programme in 2000.

Previous reports from the Zimbabwe Human Rights
Network placed the figures of those deceased due to internal displacements
and violent removals to over 10 000.

Human rights lawyer Tapera
Kapuya says the suffering inflicted upon innocent civilians and ordinary
farm workers by the government amounted to a crime against humanity which
could see Mugabe being hauled before the International Criminal Court of
Justice.

The research, entitled Multiple Displacements in No Man's Land,
also proved that only 330 thousand blacks had benefited from the land
reforms with the rest being Zanu PF elites taking over fertile lands in
places like the rich Mazowe valley.

Since the land invasions of 2000
up to date, Zimbabwe suffered concurrent droughts and has been getting aid
from international aid agencies.

Opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai has
castigated the land reforms, especially the manner in which they were done
which saw some bloody thirsty ex-combatants killing some white commercial
farmers and illegally driving them from their land.

"The MDC is not
against the land reform but we are against the recklessness in which it is
done," Tsvangirai once remarked.

We are fighting
afresh, says the MDC

THE Movement for
Democratic Change's Johannesburg district will on Sunday hold a meeting to
intensify efforts that will see the opposition going all the way out to
deliver change in the country soon.

The meeting will be held at Hillbrow
Queens Hotel from 1pm.

Austin Moyo, the Johannesburg district chairman,
told zimbabwejournalists.com that there was an urgent need to intensify the
struggle against the Zimbabwe government through "all legitimate available
challenges" as the only way to deal with the political and economic crisis
in the country.

"We are fighting afresh and this needs people to
increase their commitment and efforts so as to deliver change in the
forthcoming elections," said Moyo.

The MDC's national chairman
Lovemore Moyo will address the meeting. He is among other top MDC leaders
expected to address Zimbabweans on the need to make sure they go home to
vote next year.

"We are urging all patriotic Zimbabweans to come for this
meeting as we continue intensifying our lobbying initiatives to both SADC
and the region," added Giyani Dube, information secretary for Johannesburg
.

Moyo lamented the departure of Zimbabwe from the rule of law as well as
Harare's its arrogance by failing to uphold international legal instruments
of which it is a signatory to.

"SADC should see to it that Zimbabwe
uphold protocols on holding of democratic elections, those guidelines should
be followed, the region should stop applying selective justice to other
countries as this has led to three contested elections," Moyo
said.

The Sunday meeting comes a week after thousands graced another
meeting in Limpopo province where party cadres had gone to address
Zimbabweans there.

Mugabe has survived two coup attempts

Afrique en ligne

Windhoek, Namibia - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has survived two
coups attempts this year as angry and desperate Zimbabweans try to remove
him through military means, said respected Zimbabwean academic and political
scientist, John Makumbe.

The fiery academic, who is conducting a
series of public lectures in Namibia, said Wednesday night the foiled coups
had resulted in three senior army officers dying in unexplained
circumstances.

Makumbe, who is also a lecturer in political science
at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), was speaking at a public lecture
organised by Namibia's Institute of Democracy (NID).

He slammed
Mugabe as a 'tyrant', saying his (Mugabe) story is that of a 'liberator' who
later turn into a 'dictator'.

He also accused Mugabe of trying to
turn Zimbabwe into a North Korea by starving people and ruling through an
iron fist.

"People of Zimbabwe want Mugabe out so badly there has
been two coup attempts and three (army) Brigadier Generals suspected to have
been involved were killed clandestinely," Makumbe alleged

Reports said Harare courts were currently trying some of the alleged coup
plotters, though the court sessions were being held in camera.

Brig.-Gen. Armstrong Gunda and Gen. Taurai Lifa are said to have died
through lethal injection, while Gen. Fakazi Mleya died in a mysterious train
accident.

"The dictator we have in Zimbabwe is a former
liberator. It is a sad thing when the liberator turns around and becomes a
tyrant," Makumbe said.

The 83-year old Zimbabwean President is
battling for political survival in crisis-hit Zimbabwe.

Reeling
from Western sanctions, a deteriorating economic environment and waning
support at home, Mugabe has remained defiant and accuses Western countries,
especially former colonial master Britain, of sabotaging the economy to
effect regime change.

Makumbe also warned that Namibia was closely
following in the footsteps of Zimbabwe.

Detailing a grim
picture of the collapsing Zimbabwean economy, Makumbe said it was up to the
people of Zimbabwe to effect regime change.

He said many
Zimbabweans were living in fear of Mugabe and were opting to flee the
country than confront 'the tyrant.

"Zimbabweans are so afraid of
Mugabe that they think crocodiles in the Limpopo river are more humane,"
Makumbe said, drawing a huge laughter.

Thousands of Zimbabweans are
wading across the crocodile infested Limpopo river into neighbouring South
Africa.

He dismissed efforts by regional leaders to broker a
lasting solution to Zimbabwe's socio-economic political
problems.

A week ago, the Zimbabwean leader received a thunderous
welcome from SADC leaders at the bloc's summit in Lusaka.

"African leaders close rank, they are all very much afraid of their own
people and they start thinking that maybe tomorrow it will be me. They close
ranks and support each other," Makumbe said.

Unam 'chickens out' on
Zim

From The Namibian, 23 August

Christof Maletsky

The University of Namibia pulled the
plug at the eleventh hour on a public lecture by a well-known Zimbabwean
academic critical of that country's President Robert Mugabe. Unam announced
shortly before lunchtime yesterday that outspoken University of Zimbabwe
lecturer Professor John Makumbe's public lecture, scheduled for last night,
was cancelled. "All relevant stakeholders have been informed of the
cancellation. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. The
university is unfortunately not at liberty to discuss the reasons behind the
cancellation," Unam spokesperson Utaara Hoveka said in a statement. The
public lecture - titled 'Landscapes of Poverty - Daily Life and Social
Crisis in Zimbabwe' - was jointly organised by Unam's sociology department
and the Namibia Institute for Democracy as part of a series of six lectures
for August and September. NID said in a statement that it had acted in good
faith in organising the lecture with Unam and, at no stage did the
university express any problem with Makumbe or the topic. "In fact, the
university has been advertising the lecture series including this particular
lecture in several newspapers," the NID said. The NID said it was concerned
about the implications of the cancellation "for academic freedom and freedom
of expression at the university and in Namibia in general".

Unam
informed the NID of the cancellation yesterday morning and did not give the
NID a reason for pulling out of the event at such late notice. "The lecture
series received the full backing of Unam as a contribution to the
intellectual life of the University. Professor Makumbe's name and his topic
were on the original list of lectures drawn up by the NID and Unam and the
process of arranging the lectures proceeded through the appropriate channels
at the University," NID said. Professor Makumbe is a highly respected
political scientist who has lectured previously in Namibia, while the NID
has a strong track record of organising public debates and discussions which
create platforms for a wide variety of views and contribute to strengthening
Namibia's democracy as a whole. In view of the importance of continuing to
promote mature democratic debate, the NID decided to proceed with the
lecture by moving the venue to a local hotel. A bus was arranged to
transport people who arrived at the Unam campus to the Safari Hotel. Another
lecture is scheduled for tonight at the same hotel, when Professor Makumbe
will talk on the topic 'Zimbabwe: What Now?"

Finance ministers to assess Zim

iafrica.com

Thu, 23 Aug
2007

South Africa's Cabinet has been told that finance ministers of the
Southern African Development Community (Sadc) are to conduct a detailed
assessment of the economic conditions in Zimbabwe, and to identify any
possible action required. This follows an initial survey carried out by the
Sadc secretariat.

Cabinet spokesperson Themba Maseko said on Thursday
that President Thabo Mbeki reported to Cabinet on what he told the Sadc
heads of state at the Lusaka summit last week.

The decision on
economic recovery in Zimbabwe appears to fly in the face of a Cabinet
statement which reaffirmed the South African government position "that the
solution to the problems of Zimbabwe will come from Zimbabweans themselves"
agreeing to find a political solution for the country's
problems.

'Sensationalist media'

Maseko also discounted
reports that the Zimbabwean government said its economy does not need
outside help. He said the Zimbabwean president was part of the heads of
state summit and took part in the final decision making there.

Maseko
also told a media briefing that Cabinet noted that Mbeki's report to Sadc
was received by the heads of state, and "contrary to misleading and
sensationalist media reports the report indicated that the facilitated talks
between the government of Zimbabwe and the opposition were on track, and was
confident these talks will deliver an agreement that will lay the foundation
for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe".

Maseko added: "Government
once again categorically rejects the allegation that President Mbeki had
blamed the British government for the problems in Zimbabwe."

South Africa Can Do Something If They Want To

African Path

Izzy Mutanhaurwa

Zimbabwe:

August 23, 2007 09:46
AM

Contrary to what ANC says that South Africa cannot do
anything about Zimbabwe, and the various diction ANC led government of South
Africa employs to absolve themselves from the crisis in Zimbabwe, history
shows they can do something its only that they are unwilling. They have the
economic wherewithal and the political clout needed to bring change in
Zimbabwe. Their main argument is flawed, that Zimbabweans have to solve
their own crises.

To the outside world it gives a distorted
view that the people of Zimbabwe are unwilling to solve their own problems
yet the people of Zimbabwe are incapacitated by a brutal government and
through repressive laws. What the ANC preaches is that Zimbabweans need to
find a solution through dialogue, Zanu PF is unwilling to negotiate they
have even failed to turn up for meetings brokered by Mbeki. Zanu PF also
keeps throwing out key negotiations points even before the talks begin like
the need for a new constitution that would have ensured that result of the
proposed 2008 elections are free and fair, so how can we also talk when what
we want to talk about is deemed unnecessary. Since Zanu PF holds power
illegally in Zimbabwe they do not see the need to negotiate as stated by
Chinamasa how then can Zimbabweans solve their own problems?

Let's look at what we could do in Zimbabwe if it was a free country, we
would have won the 2000 parliamentary elections had Zanu PF not rigged it.
Morgan Tsvangirai could be the President now had Mugabe not rigged the 2002
Presidential Elections. Murambatsvina would not have happened; basically if
people of Zimbabwe could do something about their situation then we
certainly could have done something about it long ago. The only reason that
is stopping us is that in Zimbabwe we live under a dictatorship, were
personal freedom is curtailed, where human rights are no longer respected,
where freedom to express political opinion is a dream, there is no free
press in Zimbabwe. Recently for Mbeki to be tasked by the lame SADC to
broker talks between opposition in Zimbabwe and the illegal government of
Robert Mugabe had come about because on the 11th of March this year Mugabe's
partisan police murdered Gift Tandare a member of MDC (rest in peace) and
beat more than 60 opposition leaders including Morgan Tsvangirai to pulp in
a barbaric reaction to opposition called prayer meeting in Harare. Now Mr
Manuel<!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--> tell s how under such
circumstances we can we help ourselves?

History tells us what
precipitated the Lancaster House conference that ushered Mugabe and Co into
power were the sanctions that were imposed by apartheid regime on the
Rhodesian government. Internationally, the then Rhodesian state was placed
under official United Nations sanctions almost from the start of UDI
(Unilateral Declaration of Independence) in 1965.

Apart
from a few daredevil adventurers who broke the sanctions by aircraft
missions across Africa, White ruled South Africa became the Rhodesians' main
source of supplies, including the vital oil and petrol needed to keep the
wheels of the army running. Pressure was then applied to the South African
government to in turn exert pressure on Ian Smith. At one stage the
beleaguered country had only three days fuel and ammunition left after the
supply was cut off by the then South African Prime Minister, John Vorster,
in an attempt to curry favor with the American government. Vorster had been
promised a lifting of pressure on South Africa by Henry Kissinger, the then
'American' Secretary of State, in return for pressure being applied to the
Rhodesian government. Foolishly, Vorster believed Kissinger, and applied
pressure to Rhodesia, simply cutting off shipments of vital supplies and
refusing to take Smith's calls when the later tried to find out what was
going on.

The same would happen today if South Africa
were to hermetically seal the border with Zimbabwe, cut off the electricity,
refuse to buy Zimbabwean produced goods then Zanu Pf might want to
negotiate. For those that think sanctions would hurt ordinary Zimbabweans,
think again because what is hurting ordinary Zimbabweans today is the
dictatorship that rules Zimbabwe. Like the forced price controls that have
led to the shortages of basic commodities like meat, sugar, bread and
oil.

At the height of apartheid black South Africans called on the
world in order to defeat apartheid and the world answered their call. Our
call is the same today as it was for South Africans, whereas then the enemy
was a white racist government now its black government but the questions and
answers remain the same, this is a government that is starving its own
people a government that murders its own citizens for belonging to an
opposition party. ANC should be more revolted by Mugabe, if apartheid was
understandable white supremacy over blacks, surely black on black apartheid
is too much to stomach.

Mugabe catches them young

Revealed: Mugabe's secret plan to create his own version of the
Hitler Youth

Hitler had the Hitler Youth. Mao had his Red Guards. Robert
Mugabe has the 21st February Movement - a youth organisation now to be
revamped, indoctrinated and let loose in our streets and schools.

The
21st February Movement - it's Mugabe's birthday - began life in 1986 as a
benign boy scout-type organisation. Now it is to become a fanatical corps of
uniformed kids, all dedicated and devoted to their President and their
Party.

A recent meeting of Zanu-PF's governing body agreed to
militarise and politicise the 21st February Movement, starting with
pre-school toddlers. The programme, which will be compulsory for all
children, is titled, with surprising frankness, 'Operation Catch Them
Young'.

I have been shown the minutes of the meeting in which the members
- senior Zanu-PF officials - agreed to this regimentation of all school
children in order to "safeguard our sovereignty".

The minutes read:
"Plans to build the Party Ideological School should be expedited to ensure
consistence in inculcating the ideology of the Party in instilling values
and norms and to institutionalise these values and norms from pre-school
level."

Take that tortured sentence apart, word by word, and it means one
thing: brainwashing.Plans include dressing even the smallest children in
green uniforms and teaching them to march and chant Zanu-PF slogans. The aim
is to have fanatical kids as young as four screaming their loyalty to Mugabe
in unison.

This same meeting also agreed plans to clamp down on dissent
among university students. "Politically correct and educated cadres within
the Party should be appointed to administer universities to safeguard the
interests of Zanu-PF, its beliefs, values and norms," the minutes
recorded.

It also discussed the lack of Zanu-PF young women activists,
and had an answer to that problem too. "We resolve to mobilise all young
women to form and join the Zanu-PF Young Women's League."

This
planned brainwashing of all our young people clearly has many purposes, but
one purpose in particular the Politburo was happy to set down and spell out
in the official minutes. "The President," it recorded, "should be President
for Life."

An imploding state

Aug 23rd 2007 | MASHONALANDFrom
Economist.com

Zimbabwe's hunger and misery are worsening. A mass exodus
is possible, says the United Nations

AFPOVER 3m people are
thought to have left the Zimbabwe in recent years, and the UN refugee agency
says it is working on contingency plans in case the exodus worsens. There
seems every chance that it will, given 80% unemployment, inflation that was
said officially this week to be above 7,600% and severe shortages of the
most basic goods. Zimbabwe's situation is growing ever more
miserable.

Another UN agency, the World Food Programme, reckons that 4m
Zimbabweans-about one-third of the remaining population-will need food aid
by next year. This year's harvest of maize, the local staple, was meagre.
Rains have been poor, and the government's disastrous land-reform programme
has turned once flourishing commercial farming into subsistence
agriculture.

This is plain to see in rural Mashonaland, the area
around the capital, Harare, and the traditional heartland of President
Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF. Most of the land where tobacco and maize
used to grow lies fallow, taken over by wild vegetation. One commercial farm
that used to grow maize and rear cattle has been divided into 35 plots for
subsistence farmers. The irrigation system that once made the harsh terrain
lush broke down long ago. Only one of the 100 or so farm workers who used to
work there remains. His small plot is dry, and he has to walk several
kilometres to a neighbouring farm to get water. He expects his stock of
grain to run out in November, after that he'll be lucky to get one meal a
day until the next harvest, in March or April.

A makeshift school has
been set up in a small farm building, but many parents cannot afford to
spend even a few cents on education. The teacher says that a third of
children in the area do not go to school. Those who attend class find that
hunger is a distraction. Nearby, two pupils are staring up a tree,
slingshots in hand. They are hunting a monkey, their only chance of eating
meat. The youngest, wearing shorts that reveal his bony legs, says they
manage two meals a day: tea and bread, when available, for breakfast, and
maize porridge later in the day. His battered shoes are far too big and the
laces are tied around his ankles. He lives 4km (2.5 miles) away and walks to
school.

In another part of Mashonaland, a white farmer tries to hang on,
having lost the bulk of his farm to a senior government official and a few
so-called war veterans. He is one of the 350 or so commercial farmers
thought to be left, from 4,500 before the government started redistributing
land in 2000. A portrait of Mr Mugabe hangs on the office wall and he
maintains good relations with local officials. He says he is not fighting
land redistribution itself. But some buildings (including his own house),
valuable equipment and crops already planted have been taken over as well,
so he is fighting that in court. The next crops will need to be planted
soon. Uncertain about the future, he may not make the investment. From 1,200
workers, he now employs only about 500. "We are going one way," he says.
"Down."

Only cheap government loans and heavily subsidised diesel
help to keep his farm going. But he also plants and harvests on neighbouring
farms, which have been reallocated to black owners, and gets half the crop.
Many new landowners find that reselling their subsidised diesel on the black
market is far more lucrative than farming.

Presidential and
parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe are scheduled for next March. The ruling
party is said to be leaning on traditional chiefs to control rural voters.
Road-blocks in Mashonaland are frequent. In Chegutu, close to Mr Mugabe's
home, shops are bare, and the struggling local factories and farms have laid
off workers. But after years of intimidation, the opposition has almost
disappeared. In Marondera, 45 minutes south-east of Harare, the much-feared
youth militia roam the streets and the atmosphere is tense.

Voter
registration has just finished. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a
local NGO, says that rural voters loyal to ZANU-PF have been registering in
cities, presumably to dilute support for the opposition, strongest in urban
areas. But Zimbabweans will no doubt be cheered to know that the leaders of
southern Africa, gathering for a summit last week, wished elections next
year to be free and fair.

Democratic Alliance Exposes Government Over Zim Refugees

SW Radio
Africa (London)

23 August 2007Posted to the web 23 August
2007

Tichaona Sibanda

The opposition Democratic Alliance party
in South Africa on Thursday released a damning dossier drawn up five years
ago, that proves the government had worked on contingency plans to deal with
refugees from Zimbabwe.

The DA said the government was acting as if
it never recognised there was a problem in Zimbabwe but Marike Groenewald,
the media officer for the DA, said the evidence proves the government knew
there was going to be a crisis of refugees streaming across the Limpopo, to
seek refuge in South Africa.

Groenewald told Newsreel that despite
their government's reluctance to admit to the Zimbabwe crisis, in 2002 it
had undertaken research into the possibility of setting up a refugee camp on
the Zimbabwean border.

'We are in possession of a public works document
drawn up five years ago for the Home Affairs that outlines contingency plans
for a refugee camp in Musina that would have catered for 50 000 refugees,'
Groenewald said.

She said the document describes a farm identified as
Antonvilla, which could provide proper sanitation for the refugees within
eight months of the start of construction. The farm was previously used as a
military base.

She added; 'Now we have three million refugees from
Zimbabwe and the government tells us the situation hasn't amounted to a
crisis yet. There is evidence everywhere to see that the situation in
Zimbabwe has rapidly deteriorated.'

Groenewald warned the situation
could deteriorate to a point where the Thabo Mbeki government would find
itself overwhelmed with Zimbabwean refugees.

'What is not clear, however,
is why government has done absolutely nothing about implementing the plan in
the five years since the report was concluded,' she said.

Human
rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba said the influx of Zimbabweans into South
Africa started as early as 2000 and has escalated ever since.

The
South African based lawyer said it has now become difficult to define who
was an economic or political refugee, because people in both categories were
running away from the same problem, Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF.

Just-ended voter
registration a sham, says Chimhini

zimbabwejournalists.com

23rd Aug 2007 18:27 GMT

By Ian Nhuka

HARARE - An
influential civil society organisation, the Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust
(ZIMCET), has joined the long list of democracy advocates condemning the
just-ended mobile voter registration exercise as a sham.

ZIMCET executive
director, David Chimhini said the government wasted taxpayers' money by
deploying at least 2000 officials to register only 80 000 people in two
months.

Chimhini, a former head of human rights watchdog, ZimRights said
more voters could have been registered if the Registrar General's office and
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had held education programmes before the
launch and during the registration exercise.

"It is laughable because
how can a whole government deploy as many as 2000 officials to register as
few as 80 000 people over two months. This is sheer wastage of public
funds," he said.

He added that the voter registration programme was
poorly communicated to the people. He said some communities did not even
know that mobile voter registration teams were in their areas, while in
other cases people were turned away after being told that only those wishing
to obtain identity documents were being served.

"For example in my
home area, in Mutasa North in Honde Valley in Manicaland province, most
people were not aware of the programme or where they could register as
voters. This in addition to several reports we have heard, shows that the
programme was flawed and held over a very short period of time," said
Chimhini, a former head of human rights watchdog, ZimRights.

His
condemnation of the exercise comes hot on the heels of a similarassessment
by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN). ZESN identified several
flaws in the voter registration.

The body unearthed damning evidence
that, Zanu PF used its influence to bus people from the party's rural
strongholds to urban centres, like Harare where they were registered as
voters.This, charged ZESN was meant to beef the ruling party's support, at
the same time, diluting the popularity of MDC, which enjoys traditional
support in urban areas countrywide.

ZESN also accused Zanu PF of
using housing co-operatives, such as Ernest Kadungure in Harare North to
register people from rural areas.

The prospective voters added ZESN were
given proof of residence by the co-operatives, indicating that they are
Harare residents yet theco-operative has not built even a single
house.

The Registrar-General's Office, which is responsible for voter
registration, requires letters from landlords or water and electricity bills
as proof that those seeking to register as voters reside in the
constituencies where they want to vote.

Both factions of the MDC,
have also condemned the manner in which the exercise was done, saying its
supporters were systematically turned away from registration centres.
Furthermore, they have said it was done secretly, warning that vote rigging
is already in motion, seven months before the elections. They have called
for an extension of the mobile registration programme.

Chimhini
expressed fears that Zanu - PF would once again use the prevailing drought
to politicise food aid in a bid to earn votes in next year's
elections.

"This is a drought year and there is food aid distribution
going on andmy fear is that Zanu - PF will politicise food. But our people
must beeducated and know that it is the responsibility of any government
tofeed its people," he said.

Zimbabwe will hold local government and
joint parliamentary andpresidential elections next year.

Mugabe splashes out on luxury vehicles as Zim suffers

Moneyweb

New
cars for ministers, seized vehicle imports being "redistributed".

Tawanda
Jonas23 Aug 2007 08:21

Harare -

As the majority of Zimbabwe's
citizens continue to grapple with chronic daily shortages of basic goods and
commodities, President Robert Mugabe's government has splashed out on a
fleet of luxury cars for each of his 34 ministers at a state-funded cost of
around £3m.

As if that was not enough, reports also indicate that Mugabe
and his Zanu-PF party are distributing vehicles impounded at the various
border posts to civil servants. The vehicles were impounded following an
order that the payment of duties on imported vehicles be made in foreign
currency.

Sources say each top-of-the-range Mercedes S350s (SA list price
- R750 000) that Mugabe is distributing to his government ministers has a V6
engine, infrared cameras and luxurious back massaging seats.

Mugabe
himself is believed have acquired a specially crafted version of the
Mercedes S600L (SA list price R1,28m). The sleek, top-of-the-range vehicle
boasts a 12-cylinder engine, which can accelerate from 0 to 62 miles per
hour in 4,6 seconds. Including modifications, such as bullet-roof armour,
the vehicle is believed to have cost a £700 000.

Sources in the
Ministry of Finance have told Moneyweb that, in a move to lure support from
the struggling civil servants, the government had decided to hand out
brand-new impounded cars to headmasters, senior police officers and
soldiers.

This comes at a time when state spies at the Central
Intelligence Organization (CIO) received more than 100 brand new Toyota
Yaris vehicles from the same ministry.The government gazetted a law in
April requiring people importing luxury vehicles using free funds to pay
import duty in foreign currency. Vehicle owners were given three months to
pay the import duty.

TalkZimbabwe reports that the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority (ZIMRA) received an instruction from Zimbabwe's Minister of
Finance, Samuel Mumbengegwi saying that all cars that were impounded at
various border posts around the country should be handed over to the Home
Affairs and Education Ministry for distribution to senior police officers
and headmasters especially in rural areas. Contacted for comment Mumbengegwi
denied the reports, describing them at "rubbish".

A number of civil
servants are quitting their jobs for either the private sector or companies
outside the country who are offering better packages compared to the
government.Zimbabweans, stung and hard done by the country's unprecedented
economic tumble have over the past few years resorted to immigration to
neighbouring countries, especially South Africa and Botswana.